Maryland was among the first Attorneys General
to sue
the United States tobacco companies, alleging conspiracy,
fraud, and antitrust and consumer protection law violations
and the targeting of children in its advertising. Since the 1998
settlement, an estimated 13.5 percent fewer Maryland children
have access to tobacco products. Attorney General Douglas F.
Gansler continues to make this issue a major priority of his
Office:

July
10, 2006: Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran,
Jr. announced that Lorillard Tobacco Co. ("Lorillard”)
has agreed to implement new measures to prevent the illegal
sale of its
cigarettes over the Internet and through the mail. These protocols
are being adopted nationwide and voluntarily by Lorillard pursuant
to an agreement reached with 33 Attorneys General across the
country. A similar agreement was reached with Philip Morris USA
in January. "Internet sales of cigarettes can and do harm
kids,” said General Curran. "Most internet age verification
systems are inadequate, and without that critical safeguard it
is much more difficult to keep cigarettes out of the hands of
kids. Studies show however, the longer we keep those cigarettes
out of kids hands, the better the chance they will NOT become
lifetime smokers.” Read the Press
Release.

March 15, 2006: Attorney
General J. Joseph Curran Jr., announced that he has helped
lead Attorneys General of 42 other states and the District
of Columbia in an agreement
with CVS Pharmacy, Inc. under which
the nation’s largest drug store chain will implement
new procedures to reduce sales of cigarettes to minors at its
more than 5400 retail stores. "This is a fight we must
keep fighting; every day we steer a child away from smoking
is a public health victory for the state of Maryland,” said
Attorney General Curran.

Nov.
16, 2005: Attorney General Curran announced that
he had written a letter, joined by 31 other Attorneys General,
asking
Hollywood's major motion picture studios to insert an anti-smoking
public service announcement in DVD, video and UMD movies that
depict smoking. Attorney General Curran wrote to Paramount
Pictures,
Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Fox Filmed Entertainment, Universal Studios,
Warner Bros., Miramax, Dreamworks and New Line Cinema.

August
11, 2005: Attorney General Curran announced agreement
with national convenience store chain, and nation's largest tobacco
retailer, 7-Eleven, to reduce youth access to cigarettes in 7-Eleven's
stores. Press release and Agreement.
The Attorney General also has negotiated similar youth access
to tobacco agreements with
Rite Aid (Sept. 2004), Walmart's/Sam's Club (Sept. 2003), BP
Amoco (Dec. 2002), Exxon/Mobil (Aug. 2002) and Walgreens (Feb.
2002).

October
6,
2004: Attorney General Curran announced a landmark
settlement with R.J. Reynolds, in which the cigarette manufacturer
agreed to significant restrictions on future "Kool Mixx" promotions
and also agreed to pay $1.46 million to be used for youth
smoking prevention. Read the Press
release and Settlement
Agreement.

July
1, 2004: Attorney General Curran announced he had
sued the maker of Kool cigarettes for targeting youth with
a hip-hop
advertising
campaign.
Press release

May
11, 2004: The Attorney General testified before
Congress on his recent findings regarding the depiction of
smoking in the movies and its
effect
on children. Press release

Dec.
17, 2003: Attorney General Curran announced that entertainment
industry executives are willing to work cooperatively to address
the issue
of depictions of smoking in the movies. Press
release

Dec.
3, 2003: Attorney General Curran announced a settlement
with the
operators of the website www.dirtcheapcig.com prohibiting
them from selling cigarettes over the Internet. Press
release

August
26, 2003: Attorney General Curran announced that
he had written to the Motion Picture Association calling for
a reduction in smoking in the movies. Press
release

June
24, 2003: The Attorney General's Consumer Protection
Division charged the the operators of a Web site with selling
cigarettes to minors and failing to comply with Maryland
cigarette tax and licensing laws.Press
release

February
13, 2002: Attorney General Curran announced a landmark
agreement with national drugstore chain Walgreens
designed
to reduce youth access to cigarettes in Walgreens' stores.
Press
release. The Attorney General has
also negotiated youth access to tobacco agreements with
BP Amoco
(December
2002) and Exxon/Mobil (August 2002).

December
10, 2001: Attorney General Curran attended the opening
of the Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation,
and Advocacy at the University of Maryland School of
Law. The center offers legal assistance to local governments
and community groups looking to reduce access to tobacco
products, and the Attorney General's Office will assist
with those efforts. Funding for the center comes from the
states
tobacco settlement funds, through the Maryland Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Health Promotion,
Education and Tobacco Use Prevention. The Center's website
is www.law.umaryland.edu/tobacco.
Its phone number is (410) 706-1129.

June
11, 2001: Attorney General Curran
announced the result of a sting operation performed
by his office to determine the rate at which children under
18 can purchase cigarettes. A shocking 62 percent of the
purchase attempts by the minors resulted in the illegal
sale
of cigarettes. Press
release

The
sting was a first step in the Attorney General's Program
to Reduce Youth Access to Tobacco. Statistics reveal that
each year 12,800 Maryland youth start a smoking habit,
and studies show that the younger a person is when beginning
to smoke, the more likely that person will become a lifelong
smoker, unwilling or unable to quit despite the serious
health
risks associated with smoking.

The
Attorney Generals Office will work with other state
agencies and local authorities to develop a comprehensive
enforcement effort to stop the sale of tobacco products
to underage buyers. Also, the Attorney General works with
tobacco retailers who want to adopt policies and practices
designed to reduce youth sales. His Office has created
and
distributed a brochure, Tobacco
Retailer's Guide: Reducing Youth Access to Tobacco Products.

If
you have a question about the Attorney Generals program
or would like know how you can help, or if you are a tobacco
retailer who has a question about compliance, e-mail tobacco@law.umaryland.edu